Snippets of the Past
by shadows and silhouettes
Summary: Look into the lives of the OFFF characters before the story. These tales range from childhoods to early teen years to just before the story begins.
1. Riku: age 7, Sora: age 6

**Hello and welcome! The following bits of writing have no discernible order. They are just randomly little glimpses into the lives of the characters before the beginning of Of Food, Friendship, and Fluff. I suppose if you wanted to read them without reading that you could, but it might be a little confusing? I don't know, I'm biased. **

**For each snippet, the names and ages of the characters will be listed as the chapter title, so if you alert and don't want to read stuff about certain people or at certain ages, you can easily avoid it. The ages and characters will also be listed before the snippets themselves for those who don't alert and read anyway. **

**This will have no rhyme or reason to its updates really. It happens when it happens. We have to make sure we don't accidentally spoil something somehow, after all. That'd be no fun. **

**Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Please, do enjoy and if you like it kindly alert, fave, review, or a combination of the three. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Riku: age 7, Sora: age 6**

Riku was at his friend Sora's house. It was not long after Sora's sixth birthday, and Riku had been invited over to Sora's house a lot throughout the past few weeks.

This time, Riku was allowed to have his very first sleepover.

He brought his sleeping bag and his backpack full of stuff, including his teddy bear pajamas that his mother always made him wear. He was really excited to spend time with Sora.

Sora was probably more excited than Riku, by a lot. When Riku had first walked through the door, he was practically tackled by the tiny brunette.

"Hi!" Sora said, talking much too loudly.

"You're squishing me, Sora!" Riku laughed.

Sora scrambled up, laughing. "Sorry!"

"It's okay," Riku said, getting back onto his feet. "Mommy said to give you this," Riku said, holding up a bag of homemade cookies.

"Cookies!" If anything, Sora looked even more excited now.

"She said to make sure that your mommy got them, first, though, or we'd eat 'em all." Riku frowned.

"But..." Sora frowned. "We won't eat ALL of them. That'd give us tummy aches..."

Riku nodded. "Even YOU aren't that silly."

"Yeah!"

Riku smiled. "Wanna sneak a cookie or two before giving them to your mommy?"

Sora nodded furiously.

"Okay," Riku said, grinning as he handed the bag over to Sora.

Sora opened the bag, grinning, and fished out a cookie. Riku grabbed one as well before resealing the bag clumsily with his stubby fingers.

Smiling as he bit into his cookie, Sora said, "We should go to my room!"

"Okay! Can I put my stuff in there?" Riku pointed to the giant backpack on his back and the sleeping bag.

"Mhmm."

"Let's go, then!"

The two went to Sora's room. When they got there, Riku set his stuff down. Sora fidgeted slightly. He didn't know what to do now. He'd never had a sleepover before.

"Now what?" Riku asked.

"I dunno..."

Riku's tiny face scrunched up in thought. "Hmmm..."

"Maybe we should ask my mom..." Sora went to his mom for everything, because she always had an answer for him.

"Okay," Riku said brightly.

Sora turned to leave and find her, but he stopped. "Leave the cookies here."

"But... my mommy said to give them to your mommy..."

"Your mommy's not here, though. She'll never know!"

"But, Soraaa."

"If my mommy gets them, she'll only give us like… one."

"But still..."

Sora gave Riku his best puppy dog eyes.

"If I get in trouble, it's your fault," Riku said, pouting.

"Your mom will never find out. I promise!"

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." Sora held out his itty bitty pinky.

Riku smiled and linked his pinky with Sora's. "Okay."

Sora grinned at Riku and they went to find Sora's mom.

* * *

Sora and Riku spent most of the evening goofing off, playing board games and watching Disney movies with Sora's mom.

At around 10, Sora started to yawn a lot.

"Are you sleepy, Sora?" Riku asked.

"No..." It was an obvious lie. Sora wasn't used to staying up that late, and he used a lot of energy during the day with all of his running around.

"Soraaaa, you look sleepy. Your eyes are all droopy."

"I'm not sleepy!"

Riku looked at him. "You're lying, Sor."

"Nuh uh!" Sora yawned. "I wanna stay up and watch the Lion King."

"Sora, you're sleepy. It's time for bed."

"No."

"What if we watch The Lion King in our sleeping bags?"

"But there's not a TV in my room..."

"True..." Riku thought about it for a second. "Then maybe we should just go to bed..."

"No!"

"Are you suuuure?" Riku asked, frowning.

"Y-" Sora yawned. "Yes."

"Okay. We'll watch the movie, then," Riku said, sighing.

Sora grinned at him.

They started the movie, but it wasn't long before Sora's eyes started to droop. Riku, who was sitting next to him, poked him. "You're sleepy."

"Shh, no 'm not."

"Yes you are, Sora."

"Nuh uh..."

"Mmhmmmm. Your eyes are droopy again."

Sora forced his eyes open wider. "Nope."

"Sora," Riku said, poking him again. "You're bad at lying."

"I don't wanna sleep."

"Why not?"

"Because, this is the first time I've had a friend over, and I don't wanna sleep through it! And you're not sleepy!"

"Shhhh," Riku said. "Don't stay up because of me, silly goose!"

"'m not a goose." Sora pouted.

"No, you're my friend, and you're sleepy," Riku said. He turned The Lion King off. "Come on, Sor. Bedtime."

Sora's bottom lip quivered.

"Please? If you stay up too late, we won't be able to spend time together tomorrow!""

"Sure, we will!"

"But then we'll both be sleepy," Riku said, pouting.

"Nuh uh."

"I'll be sleepy."

"We could move the sleeping bags in here and finish the movie, and if we fall asleep, we fall asleep."

Riku nodded. "Okay!"

Sora smiled, and the pair moved the sleeping bags in and restarted the movie.

Sora was fast asleep before Mufasa even died.

Riku smiled, turning off the movie and making sure Sora was tucked in his sleeping bag. Turning off the lights, Riku curled up in his own sleeping bag and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sora woke up rather disoriented. It took him a moment to remember where he was and why he was there. He sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Riku was still passed out in the sleeping bag next to him. Sora leaned over and poked his shoulder.

Riku opened his eyes. "Mornin', Sor," he said sleepily.

"G'morning."

"Sleep well?" Riku sat up.

"Mhmm." Sora yawned, stretching a little.

"Good," Riku said, smiling. He looked at his sleeping bag. "Mommy said I'm supposed to roll this back up, but I don't know how."

"My parents might, but I dunno if they're up yet."

Riku frowned. "I'll ask when they're up." He looked around. "What time is it?"

"I dunno. You're the first grader!"

"Where's the clock?"

"I think there's one in the kitchen."

Riku jumped to his feet. "Okay, let's go explore!"

"I can't explore my own house! That's weird."

Riku laughed. "Okay, I'll explore, and you'll be the navigator!"

"What's a navi-navigator? Is that like an alligator?"

"It's the person who tells the explorer where to go!"

"Oh! That sounds cool."

Riku smiled, and they went to the kitchen, where they found Sora's mom with breakfast. They ate quickly, and Sora's mom told them that they only had a half an hour before Riku's mother came to pick him up.

"That's so little..." Sora was pouting.

Riku frowned. "Do I have to leave?"

Sora's mother laughed. "I'm afraid so. One little handful is enough for me," she said, ruffling Sora's hair affectionately.

Sora frowned and went to whisper in Riku's ear.

Riku grinned enormously, nodding.

"What if I went to Riku's house? If it's okay with his mom when she gets here..."

Sora's mom shrugged. "I'm okay with it."

Sora smiled at her. "You're the best!"

"And don't you forget it," she said, teasing. "Riku, do you need any help packing your stuff up?"

"Umm... could you help me with my sleeping bag?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem."

They went to the living room and packed Riku's stuff. Sora's mom advised Sora not pack his stuff to go over to Riku's until Riku's mom gave her permission.

The two of them decided to try and finish up the Lion King while they waited on Riku's mom.

Within 20 minutes, Riku's mom showed up, and after a short conversation with Sora's mother, Sora was sent off to pack his bag to sleep over at Riku's.

Finally, everyone had finished packing, the bags were loaded into the car, and they were on their way.

Riku was happy to be able to spend more time with Sora.


	2. Riku: age 8, Sora: age 7

**Here is a snippet! More little Soriku and hedgehogs. Fun, fun times.**

**Riku: age eight, Sora: age seven**

* * *

Sora was seven years old, and he had just gotten his very first ever hedgehog. His parents had given it to him for his birthday, and he was very proud of it. So, he decided to bring it to school and show his best friend in the entire world, Riku. His mommy and daddy didn't know that he was going to bring it, though. He had to be super careful and smuggle Sonic into his pocket.

He made it to school without being discovered, and he pulled out his hedgehog. He planned to show it to Riku, but he got distracted by the slide. The slide was fun! Then he realized-if the slide was fun for HIM, so imagine how much fun it would be for Sonic! He ran to the top of the slide and sent Sonic down. watching as Sonic picked up speed. Right as Sonic got to the bottom, Sora watched Riku walk by. Sora quickly ran, picked Sonic up, and practically tackled his friend.

"RIKU, RIKU, RIKUUUUU! I have a hedgehog!" He held Sonic out for Riku to see.

"Are you allowed to have that at school?" the taller boy asked.

"I don't know. I wanted to surprise you, though! SURPRISE! I have a hedgehog and his name is Sonic!"

"Nice to meet you, Sonic," Riku said, smiling. He shook Sonic's tiny little paw.

Sora jumped up and down. "Sonic likes the slide, Riku! Watch!" He ran to the top of the slide and let Sonic slide down again. Riku caught him at the bottom, and Sora's eyes lit up.

"RIKU! WHAT IF WE HAVE A LITTLE HEDGEHOG OBSTACLE COURSE?"

"Sora, don't we have to go into the school soon?"

"Shhhh. HEDGEHOG OBSTACLE COURSE or boring school?"

"Soraaaaa, I don't want to get into trouble again."

"Pleeeeeeeease, Riku?" Sora made huge puppy dog eyes, and Riku sighed.

Sora and Riku didn't go to class. Instead, they sat outside, playing with Sonic until the principal saw them and dragged them into the office.

They both got in trouble, but it didn't matter. They were covered in dirt with enormous smiles on their faces.


	3. Riku: age 13, Sora: age 12

**Here's a snippet for you.**

Riku: age thirteen, Sora: age twelve

* * *

"Sora?" Riku stared at the small boy who was standing at the door of his room. He was practically in tears. "Are you okay?"

Sora looked down, shaking his head.

"Sor?" Riku stood up and walked over to him, giving a giant hug. "What's wrong?"

"My mom had to take Sonic to the vet..."

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know...I'm really worried. What if something bad happens?"

"Then I'll be here," Riku said. "I'll always be here, no matter what."

"Thanks, Riku." Sora sniffled a little.

"That's what I'm here for," Riku said. "Do you need kleenex?"

"Mhmm."

Riku let go of Sora for just a second to retrieve his box of kleenex, which he held out to the tiny brunette.

Sora took a tissue from the box and wiped his eyes before blowing his nose.

"When are you going to find out about Sonic?"

"When my mom calls."

"Do you want to just sit here with me until she calls?"

Sora nodded.

"Okay. Come here," Riku said, sitting on his bed and clearing a space next to him for Sora.

Sora sat down next to Riku. Riku wrapped his arms around him.

"Wh-what if he...?"

"Shhh..." Riku said. "We'll deal with that if it happens."

"I'm scared...He's the only pet I've ever had."

"You know," Riku said. "Even if... even if he does, you know that he will be a happy hedgehog, because he had the best owner in the world."

Sora tried to smile at him.

Riku hugged him tightly. "It's okay to hurt, Sor."

"I know."

"I'm going to be here."

Sora nodded.

"No matter what, I'll be here."

"I know. You're the best friend ever."

"You deserve it."

Sora hugged him, and Riku hugged back..

An hour later, Sora's cell phone rang. He looked at it for a moment before answering.

Riku held Sora's hand, not knowing what to expect.

Sora listened for a moment, his face falling more every second. "O-okay. Bye mom..." He hung up the phone.

Riku hugged Sora tightly.

"Ri...ku..."

"Shh... you don't have to talk if you don't want to."

Sora buried his face in Riku's shirt.

Riku held Sora, mumbling quiet reassurances. He felt awful. Sora had loved Sonic.

"My...my mom said we could...b-bury him in the backyard later, if I wanted..."

"We can make him a headstone and everything."

Sora nodded.

"When do you want to bury him?"

Sora thought about it for a moment. "Sunset."

Riku nodded. "That sounds perfect."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure Sonic would love it."

"Mhmm."

"I'm sorry, Sora."

"I h-had him for a while...It was b-bound to happen."

"That doesn't mean it's not sad." Riku thought for a second. "We could get a new hedgehog. He could never ever replace Sonic, but you wouldn't be alone."

"Not yet...Maybe...Maybe next year or something."

Riku nodded. "That sounds good."

Sora smiled.

"You'll be okay."

"Yeah."

Riku was silent, holding Sora.

Later on, they buried Sonic, and eventually, life moved on.


	4. Roxas: age 16, Sora: age 14

**Sora and Roxas weren't always so close. At the beginning, they were really only friends because of Riku; Sor and Ri had been friends since they were little, and Riku and Roxas went to school together. **

**This little exchange was referenced in the snow chapter. At this point, Sora and Roxas had known each other almost a year, but their friendship wasn't exactly a close one. The fact that Roxas isn't exactly the most tactful person did not help matters. **

**Enjoy!**

**Roxas 16, Sora 14**

* * *

Roxas' phone started ringing. He looked at the caller ID, and, seeing that it was Sora, he answered.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, um, Riku just sent me a message and said something came up, so he's busy today."

"So are we not hanging out, then?" Roxas rarely ever hung out with just Sora. Sora and Roxas were friends, but Sora was Riku's friend more than he was Roxas'.

"We still can, if you want."

Roxas thought about it for a second. "Okay, sounds good. We were going to meet at Riku's, though. Do you want to meet at your house or mine, instead?"

"Um... yours."

"Mmkay. You're free to come over whenever."

"Alright. I'll be over soon, then."

"See you." Roxas hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, Sora showed up.

"Hey. What's up?"

Sora walked into Roxas' room. "Not much. My dad said he's coming to get me at like six or something."

"Okay. That works." They had about four hours.

Sora nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"So. What do you want to do?" Roxas asked. He didn't really know what to do with the brunette.

"I dunno. It's your house."

"Hmm... I don't really care."

"We could watch TV?" Sora proposed.

"That works."

"Okay."

"To the living room?" Roxas asked.

"Yep."

They walked to the living room, and Roxas flipped through stations. "Stop me if you see anything you like."

"You can pick." Sora didn't get to watch much TV, so he had no idea what good shows or movies would be on.

"Hmm..." Roxas eventually settled on a horror flick. "You okay with this?"

"Yeah, sure."

After a while, Roxas flipped the TV off. "I have a question for you."

Sora looked at him. "What?"

"Are you gay?" Roxas asked, unabashedly. He knew that it probably seemed like it was coming out of nowhere for Sora, but it had been niggling at him for a few months.

"_What?_" Sora looked shocked.

"Well, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would you even ask that?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Because I think you are. Why else?"

"Why?"

"Because you act like you are."

"I don't act like anything."

"Yes you do," Roxas said.

"Do not."

"I've never heard you say one single thing about a girl looking cute or whatever, but you're constantly saying them about guys. Sometimes I think you're hitting on Riku."

"What? I don't say things about guys." Sora wasn't stupid. People could overhear those kinds of comments, and he didn't want that.

Roxas sighed. "Okay, so maybe it's not really direct, but the way you say them... I'm not an idiot, Sora."

"I don't say anything, Roxas."

"I repeat, I'm not an idiot."

"Yeah, you apparently are."

"How come you never show any interest in girls, then?" Roxas stared pointedly at Sora.

"Because I'm only 14, and my parents say I'm too young to date."

Roxas shook his head. "You don't LOOK at them, Sora. Dating and showing interest are two different things. Besides, that's bullshit. 14 is not too young to date."

"Why show interest if nothing is allowed to come of it?" Sora asked. "I'm saving myself in the long run. And it's not. My parents are old-fashioned and controlling. To them, 14 is too young."

"Hormones don't work that way, kid. You can't just turn them on and off."

"I didn't say I'm not interested. I'm just not outwardly showing it."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Bullshit."

"No it's not."

"It is and you know it."

Sora shook his head.

"You don't look at them, Sora. I get not outwardly showing getting flustered or like... ogling them, or anything, but it always looks like they don't even exist to you. Your gaze glosses over them." That was the thing that tipped Roxas off most. Sora was always more energetic around Riku. That could just be Sora's personality, though, or the fact that he and Riku were best friends. The fact that girls did not even seem to pop up on his radar? That either meant Sora hadn't hit puberty yet or he didn't care to look.

"You're seeing things that aren't there, Rox."

"Why are you in denial?"

"I'm not!"

"There's nothing wrong with being gay," Roxas said reasonably.

"I know."

"Then why are you so scared that you won't even admit you are? It's not the end of the world."

"Because I'm not..." Sora said, starting to look frustrated.

"Sure."

"Roxas..."

"Yes?"

"Stop, please."

"Why?" Roxas asked flatly.

"Because I'm asking you to."

"Why?" Roxas repeated.

"Because."

"Because I'm right?"

Looking down, Sora shook his head.

"Then why, Sora?"

"Because I want you to stop." Sora's voice was getting quieter and quieter.

'You're going to have to admit it sooner or later."

"There's nothing for me to admit."

"Bullshit."

"Roxas, stop."

Roxas crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Give me one good reason to stop."

"Because you're upsetting me."

"If it's that upsetting, there has to be some amount of truth to it."

Sora shook his head.

"Either that or you're incredibly homophobic." Roxas thought that was less likely, considering Sora just said he knew there was nothing wrong with being gay.

"I'm not homophobic. That would be my father."

"So you're scared of your dad finding out?"

"There's nothing for him to find out."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Sora."

"I'm serious."

"Me too."

"What will it take for me to convince you?" Sora asked tiredly.

"What do you think will prove it?"

"I'm asking you."

Roxas shrugged. "There isn't much you can do to convince me."

"But there's something?"

"Nothing I can come up with. This one's on you."

Sora shrugged, and Roxas nodded. "Then until you can prove otherwise, you're in the closet."

Sora frowned, muttering something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"Nothing," Sora repeated.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Sora."

"I said..." Sora sighed. "I said that closets are safe and comfortable."

"But they're also cramped and dark."

"Not walk-in ones."

"Based on the fact that you refused to admit it even when I directly confronted you tells me you're way too deep into the closet for it to be comfortable or happy."

"I'm fine."

"I doubt that."

"I really am," Sora insisted.

"At least you finally owned up to it."

"Because you don't know how to leave well enough alone."

Roxas nodded. "Nope. I've always had that problem. I don't let people lie to themselves."

"I was never lying to myself. Just everyone else."

"I'm not crazy about letting people do that, either."

"It's not your life."

"Now you have someone you can be yourself around, though," Roxas pointed out. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone or anything. I won't even tell Riku." Roxas couldn't think of this as anything but a good thing.

"Good. I'm going to go wait outside for my dad now, it's almost six."

Roxas sighed. "You have another ten minutes. There's no point in waiting outside."

"I'm waiting outside."

"You're being ridiculous." Roxas could understand Sora being a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't see why it was THAT big of a deal...

"Screw you." Sora got up from the couch.

Roxas sighed. "Riku's going to ask sooner or later why you hate me so much. What are you going to tell him?"

"That you're an ass."

"He already knows that. Hell, you already knew that."

"Then I'll tell him that it finally got to me."

"Whatever. You'll get over it," Roxas said, his tone lacking any sympathy for the smaller brunette.

Sora shrugged as he walked out of the room." Bye, Roxas."

Roxas sighed, but despite Sora's anger, he felt justified.

He had gotten the boy to admit the truth, and that was a step in the right direction.


	5. Riku: age 6, Sora: age 5

**Laci and I have come to the conclusion that Sora and Riku were adorable when they were little. **

**We've had the story of how they met worked out for a while now. We've never actually sat down and written it, though. So, since we got our chapter of OFFF written ahead of time, we decided to write up the scene and post it here. **

**Riku: age six, Sora: age five**

* * *

"Riku," the teacher called. She searched the room of first graders for the small boy with odd, silver hair. "Riku?"

The small boy looked up from his coloring. "Yes?"

"Can you come here for a moment?"

Riku put his crayon back in his pencil box and got up from his desk. He walked over to the teacher's desk.

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" The teacher knew that Riku was generally fairly responsible, for a six-year-old boy, and she knew he was already done with his work for the day.

"Sure!" Riku said, smiling. "What do you need?"

"I have something that I need to have taken down to the office. Would you mind taking it there for me?"

"I don't mind."

The teacher smiled and handed Riku an envelope. "Just hand this to them, okay?"

"Okay!" Riku took the hall pass from her desk and started to skip down the hallway. He handed the envelope to the people in the office before going to turn around. He was hopping down the hallway, trying to jump from square to square on the tiled floor when he ran into someone.

"I'm sorry!" Riku immediately said. He looked up to see that the person he had run into was a boy smaller than him, with enormous blue eyes and brown, pokey hair. "You're little," Riku said.

"I'm not little!" the boy protested.

"Then what are you?"

"I'm Sora."

"What's a Sora?" Riku's face scrunched up.

"Me! That's my name, silly!"

"I'm not silly! I'm Riku. What are you doing here?"

"I got lost..."

"Where are you s'posed to be? I'm a big first grader! I can help you."

Sora looked at him a little awed. "I'm only in kinder-" He stumbled on the long word a little. "Kindergarten."

"Who's your homeroom teacher?" Riku asked. "I can take you back to your room."

Sora frowned. "Um..."

"Can you tell me what she looks like?"

"Um...she's really pretty and has long hair."

"Oh! She was my kindergarten teacher, too." Riku smiled. "I know where her room is."

"Really?" Sora grinned.

"Yup! It's this way." Riku grabbed Sora's tiny hand.

Sora followed Riku. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Nope! My teacher likes me." Riku led Sora down the hallway.

"Promise? I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Promise. How'd you end up lost, anyway?"

"My mommy dropped me off in a different place because we were late."

"And she just left you alone? That wasn't very nice of her."

"She was almost late for work, and since daddy's not working right now because he fell off the house, she can't be late."

"My mommy works from home, so as long as she gets everything done, we're a-okay."

"Lucky! I wish my mommy did that."

"Daddy goes to work at a company, though. He's a busy bee."

"Both of my parents used to go places for work. I had to go somewhere else after school. I don't right now, because Daddy's home."

"Is your daddy nice?"

"He's the best!"

Riku laughed. "I love my daddy, too. My mommy and daddy are really, really nice. They sometimes let me eat chocolate chip pancakes for dinner!"

"That's super cool!"

"Yup!" Riku smiled.

"Mine have lotsa rules, but I still get to have fun."

Riku made a face. "My family doesn't have many rules. I like that."

"Lucky duck!" Sora pouted.

"I'm sure your parents are nice, too, though!" Riku took Sora down the hallway and stopped at a door. "Is this your classroom?"

Sora looked around. "Yeah! Thank you, thank you, thank you." He hugged the other boy.

Riku smiled and hugged the boy back. "No problem! If you ever get lost again, just find me!"

"How am I gonna do that? I don't know where you are."

"I'll have to find you, then," Riku said, nodding.

"Okay."

"I like you, Sora," Riku said. "You're my friend."

"You're mine, too!"

"We have the same recess. We should play together!"

"Yeah!" Sora grinned hugely.

"I'll see you then." Riku smiled.

"Mhmm." Sora hugged Riku again.

Riku hugged Sora. "I need to go back to my own room, now."

"Okay." Sora pouted a little.

"I'll see you later, though!"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Alright." Sora smiled at him. "Thanks for helping me. I was getting scared."

"You're welcome!"

Sora hugged him a third time.

Riku laughed. "If you keep hugging me, I'll never make it back to my classroom! My teacher'll think I got kidnapped!"

"You've been Sora-napped."

"You're silly," Riku said, an enormous smile on his face.

"I should go, though, before my teacher worries. I never miss school."

Riku nodded. "Bye bye, Sora."

"Bye." Sora waved and opened the door to his room.

Once Sora was gone, Riku stopped waving and turned around to go back to his classroom. He skipped down the hallway, the biggest smile on his face. When he returned to class, the teacher was a bit worried.

"Riku, where were you? Did you deliver the envelope?"

"Yup!" Riku said. "And I met a friend, too!"

"You did?"

"Yup! I helped a kindergartner find his classroom. He was a bit lost because his mommy dropped him off somewhere else." Riku put the hall pass back.

"That was nice of you." The teacher smiled. "It's nice making friends, isn't it?"

Riku nodded happily. "He gave me lots of hugs, too."

The teacher laughed. "Well, go back to your seat, now. Thank you for doing that for me."

Smiling, Riku sat down at his desk and returned to his coloring.

* * *

"Sora?" the teacher asked. "Why are you late?"

"I got lost..." Sora muttered, looking at his shoes.

"Why didn't you go to the office, dear?"

"I was trying to, but I didn't know how to get there from where I was."

"Where was your mother?"

"She had to hurry to work."

The teacher sighed. "Next time, make sure your mother takes you into the office if you are late."

"I'm sorry... I made a friend, though! He helped me get unlost!"

"That was nice of him."

"Mhmm. And he said we should play at recess!" Sora bounced excitedly.

"What grade is he in?"

"He's a first grader."

"Oh? What is his name?"

"Riku!"

"I know Riku. He is a good student." The teacher smiled slightly.

"He's really nice."

"Yes he is. Now, Sora, please return to your seat."

"Yes, ma'am." Sora sat down.

The two boys met up at recess to play that day, the next day, and every day for the rest of the year.


	6. Xion: age 14, Zexion: age 13

**With this snippet comes an apology, I'm afraid. We're uploading this, but we will not be uploading a regular Tuesday chapter of OFFF. We will have one up Friday, though, so don't worry! Also, this Sunday, we plan to upload the first chapter of a new fic, Up in Flames, here on Laci's account (shadows and silhouettes). Laci and I are super excited to see what you guys think.**

**Anyway, back to the snippet! This one is a little bit different than normal (meaning it's not at all related to Soriku…). I don't know if you guys have noticed or not, but Zexion and Xion actually tend to get along really well. I decided to write it out and show you why!**

**Xion: age 14, Zexion: age 13**

* * *

It was the first day of high school, and although Xion knew that it was silly, she was incredibly nervous.

She had gone to a private school for her middle school years. Her parents were both working long hours, and her three oldest siblings all had jobs, too. Her parents were willing to pay a little bit more for her education.

Xion had wanted to go to a private high school, but she knew from the start that it would not work out. Her older brother was starting college, and that was definitely not cheap. To make matters worse, her dad was starting to get nervous about work. They were laying off a lot of people in his department, and he didn't feel like he had a lot of job security.

With education costs and only one income… well, putting five children through private schools, even with scholarships, was just not feasible.

It wasn't like Xion really minded the public school. She was sure that if she worked hard, she could learn regardless of the atmosphere. However, she was still nervous. The only people she would know in her new high school would be her two older sisters. All of her friends were going to different schools.

Her oldest sister would be a senior that year, and although she could drive, she did not have a car. So, it was Xion's mother that dropped Xion and her sisters off at the high school on the way to work. Xion thought that the three of them would walk in together, but she was sadly mistaken. Her older siblings were quick to leave Xion behind to navigate the large, intimidating school all by herself.

It took Xion almost ten minutes to find her locker. It was at the very end of the hallway, which was a bit of an inconvenient location. Xion knew she didn't need it much; she had heard that most people did not actually use their lockers there. It was still nice knowing where it was, at least.

After that, she found her homeroom. She was happy to find that it was close to her locker, at least. Xion had always been able to find happiness in the little things. She may have been completely alone in the crowded hallway, but she knew where her locker was and she knew how to get from there to her homeroom.

That was progress.

Back in middle school, Xion's friends tended to understand the fact that she was a bit quieter. She came from a big family, and as the second youngest child, she did not exactly get a ton of attention.

Xion did not realize that would be a big problem until she started a new school. By the time she finished her morning classes, she had spoken precisely five times. Four of the five were verifying her presence as roll was taken. The other one was apologizing when someone fussed at her for moving too slowly through the hallways.

She was still maintaining a cheerful outlook. Her teachers all seemed really nice, and it sounded like they would be learning a lot. Some of the students in her classes did not seem particularly motivated, but that was the case back in middle school, too. The classes themselves were slightly bigger than what Xion was used to, but she knew she could handle the school aspect. She was looking forward to it, actually.

The social aspect made her a bit nervous, but she knew it was the first day. She had a whole year to find new friends. She knew expecting it to happen right away would be silly.

When it came time for lunch, though, and she had no one to sit with…

Like always, Xion had a book with her to read. She knew that if she did end up sitting alone, she would be able to read her book in relative peace. Although she was used to being surrounded by people, she could probably handle being alone for just a bit, while things adjusted.

She picked an empty table along the fringes of the cafeteria and sat down. She had brought a bag lunch, so she did not get stuck in the scarily long lunch line.

For at least ten minutes, she sat alone eating her lunch.

"Hello," a voice said. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Xion looked up to see a short boy with grayish blue hair that covered one of his eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. Xion figured he was probably in one of her classes, but with so many new people around, she couldn't say that for sure.

Either way, he seemed relatively harmless, and it meant she did not have to sit alone. Maybe he was new, too, and wanted some new friends!

"Sure, you can sit there!" Xion said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you," the boy said, a tentative smile on his face. "I should probably mention that I have two friends that I usually sit with. I hope you don't mind if they come here, as well."

"Nope!" Xion said.

"Perfect. I'm Zexion, by the way." The boy stuck out a hand. "My friends are Axel and Demyx. They should be arriving shortly."

"Xion," the small girl said, shaking Zexion's hand.

"What year are you?" Zexion asked, trying to make conversation.

"Freshman."

"I figured. You are intelligent, though, aren't you?"

Xion looked at him, slightly surprised by the question. Zexion laughed at her confused look.

"You are in my math class. Considering that I tested out of freshman algebra to be enrolled in the course, I figured that you either had to be a new sophomore or an intelligent freshman."

"Oh," Xion said, smiling. "Are you a freshman, too, then?"

"I am," Zexion said. "But I know approximately one fifth of the people in this school already from middle school. I did not recognize you, though."

"I'm new," Xion said.

"Well, we all are, aren't we?" Zexion raised an eyebrow. "All of the freshman."

"Private middle school," Xion explained.

"Ah, that makes sense. How do you like the public school so far?"

"It's… loud."

Zexion smiled. "Yeah, it is. You will get used to it, though. This is actually one of the better public school districts in the area, so you should be able to adjust quickly. The academics are fairly rigorous, actually."

"That's really good," Xion said, smiling slightly.

Tilting his head, Zexion said, "Are you always this shy, or is it just that you are at a new school? I am not very intimidating. My friend Axel is intimidating and my friend Demyx is overwhelming. I am generally the sane one.

"I'm sorry!" Xion apologized. "I'm just a bit quiet."

"That's okay." Zexion pointed across the room. "You see those two?"

Xion followed Zexion's finger to a boy with bright red, spiky hair and a blonde boy with a conspicuous mullet. "Yeah."

"The redhead is Axel and the blonde is Demyx."

"They seem interesting," Xion said, sounding completely genuine.

Zexion smiled crookedly. "That's one way to put it. When they come along, you won't have to do too much talking. Demyx might ask a ton of questions, but once he settles down, you should be fine. Just distract him—bring up music or animals or anything fluffy and he will jump on the topics. He will talk so much about them that you wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise if you wanted."

Xion laughed. "He sounds energetic."

"That's putting it mildly. He's a very sweet person, though. Being around him is like spending time with a five-year-old kid. He does not have an ounce of malice in him."

"What about Axel?"

"Axel and Demyx have known each other since forever. He will try to tone Demyx down a bit, but with Demyx, that is almost impossible. Axel looks scarier than he is. His hair is crazy, and he looks like he would be a bit of a punk, for lack of a better word. He is not, though. He is actually a bit quieter than you would think he is, and he is generally very friendly. He is tough and he tends to be a bit sarcastic and moody, but if you do not treat him or his friends poorly, he is relatively easy to get along with."

"How'd you get to be friends with them?"

Zexion grinned. "Demyx. He's part leech, I think. We became friends back in middle school, and he latched on and dragged me into the group… if two people can be called a group. He makes decisions about people very quickly, and you almost always know where you stand with him."

"That's a bit scary…"

"Do not worry about it," Zexion said firmly. "He will like you. I am positive. He will probably think you are adorable, in fact."

Xion smiled. "If you're sure, I believe you. It sounds like you know him well."

Zexion nodded. "I do."

It was not long before Axel and Demyx arrived at the table. Just as Zexion had promised, Demyx inundated her with questions at first. It did not take him long to move on, though, once he started to see that Xion was a bit uncomfortable. Xion seemed to fit in fairly well with the three boys, and they had a nice lunch together.

Xion stood up to walk to her next class when lunch was over. "It was nice meeting you," she said quietly.

"You too," Axel said.

"See you tomorrow!" Demyx said, beaming.

"O-okay," Xion said, an enormous grin breaking out across her face.

"I'm going too, guys," Zexion said. "See you after school."

Zexion and Xion walked together down the hallway. "Well, what do you think?" he asked.

"I like them," Xion said.

"Good, because you're not getting rid of us anytime soon."

"I don't think I mind."

Zexion nodded. "I shall see you later, Xion. Have a nice afternoon."

Xion waved and smiled. She finally felt the nervousness starting to slip away. She had people that she would know and recognize now.

All thanks to the short boy with a quiet smile and a knack for choosing tables in the cafeteria, she had three new friends.


End file.
